SleepingWith Death
by AAJ Edward
Summary: What about Heaven?Heaven's a myth, my dear Uchiha...Why's that? Sasuke asked, looking at the red head before him.Because I burned it.... He said as the sand encircled him.There's no place to go... but hell...
1. Gaara

Well I'm here and writing a new fanfic! YAY:cheers and does the moonwalk: Any way! Now that my victory dance is over, I'm here to announce that... I DO NOT own Naruto or the song "Modern Myth" By 30 Seconds To Mars... so ... please! R&R!!!!

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_Sleeping With Death_

Rain pelted harshly against the ground, painting an array of colors with the vanishing chalk drawings outside the apartment building. Thunder clashed overhead, shaking the heavens into a cowering fear. Unknown to the people of the city, a fire burned in the sky, eating away at the clouds of hope and the beings of wings as lightning lit up the sky in a triumphant cry.

One figure dared stand alone in the storm, wind beating against his seemingly frail frame. Blood red locks of hair whirled around his head and into teal eyes surrounded by dark, heavy, black lines. His pale skin glittered with the cold, almost needle sharp rain. A red tattoo, the color of his hair, rested above his left eye, symbolizing love. As lightning flashed and another roar of the thunder sounded directly above him, he cracked a small, twisted smirk.

_Did we create a modern myth  
Did we imagine half of it  
What happened in a thought from now  
Save yourself, save yourself_

_A secret is out  
A secret is out_

_To buy the truth and sell a lie  
The last mistake before you die  
So don't forget to breath tonight  
Tonight's the last so say goodbye_

_A secret is out  
A secret is out  
A secret is out  
A secret is out_

_Goodbye_

Letting out a laugh that sounded like bells, Sakura watched as Sasuke tackled Naruto, trying to restrain the flailing blond as he laughed out insults to the raven haired teen. It was a normal summer day for the three friends. Everything was calm, other kids were off laughing and running around. Dogs were barking and their owners were yelling insults at them as they chased their kid's favorite pet down the street.

"Alright! Sasuke! Get off my boyfriend! I think he's had enough!" Sakura finally laughed out, standing and walking over to the two boys. Sasuke frowned and got off Naruto, letting the cowering, but still hysterically laughing blond up from the ground.

"Dobe..." he muttered.

"Aw! What's wrong, Teme?" Naruto cooed back, smirking. Sasuke glared.

"Don't make me kill you."

"Oh would you two grow up." Sakura said, stepping in and saving the blond from a massive beating. "Hey, Naruto... shouldn't we be going if we're going to catch that movie?" She asked. Naruto blinked and then gasped.

"You're right! Sorry, Teme! We'll have to settle this some other time! I've got a date with Sakura! See ya tomorrow at school!" He said, waving and dragging Sakura off behind him. Sasuke watched them go and rolled his eyes, shaking his head and walking off towards his house. Itachi would probably be at home, baking and getting ready to torture his little brother into taste testing every last one of the sweet treats. Yeah right, like that was torture.

It was funny, really. Sasuke and his brother got along perfectly after their parents had died. He never really under stood it, but it seemed to make sense.

As Sasuke walked home, he began to dream of a lazy summer weekend before he had to return to school the next day. Man, why did it have to be September already?

Approaching his house, he found his brother leaning against the fence of their yard, talking to some blond chick he'd never seen before. Glancing around, he noticed the moving van parked just outside their house. It was then that he groaned.

Rolling his black eyes, he went over to greet who ever it was that was unlucky enough to live next door to the Uchiha siblings.

The woman his brother was talking to was nearly as tall as Itachi, some where around 5'10". She was built well and well endowed, any man could see that. Brown eyes smiled back at Itachi from beneath her blond bangs. The rest of her hair was tied back into four ponytails. As Sasuke approached she looked over at him and waved. Sasuke nodded and Itachi turned to see his brother approaching. He nearly squealed and glomped his brother right then and there.

"Sasuke!!!!! Sasuke! Come meet our new neighbors!" He cried, shoving the shorter boy forward. Sasuke nearly tripped but kept his footing and glared back at his brother sightly before offering a small smile to the woman.

"Hi! I'm Temari! Just moved in next door. I'm guessing you're Sasuke?" she asked, shaking his hand.

"Gee, how'd you know?" He asked slightly sarcastically. Temari only laughed. It wasn't a giggle like most girls, it was a true laugh.

"You'd like my little brother!" She stopped and glanced over her shoulder, her grin widening.

"Well... speak of the devil and he shall come! HEY! HEY! GAARA! COME HERE!" she called, waving over a red head. He looked at her flatly and sighed, setting down the box in his arms and walking over.

"What?" He asked, a slight growl in his voice. Sasuke stopped and took in the newcomer's appearance. Pale skin, blood red hair and love tattoo to match, teal eyes, thick black eyeliner, no eyebrows, but still... dead sexy.

"This is Sasuke, Itachi's little brother!" Temari said, shoving Gaara forward and nodding to Sasuke. The raven fought a blush as Gaara's eyes locked with his. Gaara blinked and then nodded. Sasuke gave a faint smile and said a quiet hello. It was then that Itachi finally DID squeal and glomp Sasuke.

"AW! SO CUTE! MY BROTHER'S GOTTA CRUSH!" At this, Sasuke flailed and tried frantically to get his brother off him.

"SHUT UP ASS HOLE! I DO NOT! GET THE FUCK OFF ME! RAPE! RAPE!" He yelled, now lying flat on the ground and struggling to get his teasing brother off his smaller frame. Gaara just raised a non existent eye brow and watched the scene unfold. Temari smirked.

"Love at first sight! You're so cute Gaara! I wonder if you two will get married!?" She gasped, suddenly looking hopeful. Gaara glared at her.

"I'm leaving now... Oh... and you breathe a word of this to Kankuro..." He said, walking away and looking over his shoulder, smirking. "I'll kill you... I love big sister..."

Sasuke spent the rest of that night and most of the morning listening to Itachi sing in his ear about he and Gaara. Arriving at the bus stop the next morning, Sasuke twitched as he thought of the lack of sleep the night before and his brother's new mental problems. Now he knew that Itachi wasn't normal, he'd proven that years ago when he'd started wearing nail polish and singing show tunes while out in the garden.

'What the hell is his problem!?!' Sasuke screamed in his head, thinking over different death scenes for his older sibling. He sighed.

"Oh well.. at least I don't have to put up with him in school anymore..."

"Your brother?" A deeper voice sounded, suddenly beside the young Uchiha. Sasuke jumped and looked over at Gaara as he walked up. Sasuke blinked and nodded in greeting, Gaara doing the same.

"Heh.. yeah... sorry about yesterday... his antics are..."

"Unique?" Sasuke flinched slightly.

"To sugar coat it, yes..." Gaara shrugged his messenger bag farther onto his shoulder and grunted a soft reply.

"Don't worry. Temari's the same. Just be glad you haven't met Kankuro yet. He cross dresses." He said, a slight smirk tugging at his lips. Sasuke returned the smirk and bit back a laugh.

"You're kidding me..."

"Yes. But he is worse than Temari and most likely your brother... Itachi right?" Sasuke nodded. 'And you're Sasuke?" again the raven nodded. Gaara sighed.

"So... where did you move from?" Gaara looked back at him and heaved another heavy sigh.

"Suna." Sasuke nearly choked on his own tongue.

"Why'd you leave?! It's get fucking cold here!" Gaara merely chuckled.

"Temari got a good paying job. It's kind of important for her to keep a steady paycheck seeing as she's the main support in our family." Sasuke tilted his head.

"What about your parents?"

"Dead. Well... our mother is anyway. Our father just up and left one day." He shrugged. "but hey... I could care less. He never really cared anyway." Sasuke fell silent and looked at the ground, slightly ashamed for having brought up the subject.

"Seems to be the new fad." He finally said. Gaara gave him a questioning look. "Kids being orphaned. I have an idea of what you mean. When I was five my parents died in a car crash." Gaara nodded. "But hey... at least we've got our siblings." Gaara snorted in amusement.

"Can you really admit that you're related to Itachi?" Sasuke laughed slightly and shrugged ever so little.

"Sadly... we look alike so it's kind of hard to denounce him as my brother." Gaara nodded.

"I know the feelin-"

"HEY! LITTLE BRO!" Gaara visibly cringed at the voice of his older brother.

"Please let me be imagining this... please let him not be here..." He quietly begged. Sasuke quirked a brow as teen seeming only three years older pulled Gaara into a bone breaking hug. Gaara gasped and started cursing in a string of words so colorful that even a sailor would have been embarrassed. The teen finally dropped him when he spotted Sasuke.

"Gaara! Is this the boy Temari was telling me about?" He asked, looking Sasuke over. Gaara twitched as the teen nudged him with his elbow and winked.

"He's quite the catch..."

"Kankuro... go die... a slow and painful death in a dark secluded corner." he growled.

"So this... is Kankuro?" He asked, nodding towards the russet haired teen. Brown eyes smiled back, resembling Temari's in an almost frightening way. His wolfish grin turned from Sasuke to his little brother as he ruffled the red head's hair affectionately. Gaara merely crossed his arms and huffed.

"Sadly..." He finally replied. The young Uchiha nodded and kept looking at Kankuro as if he would bite. The raven's only saving grace was the bus pulling up.

The school day slipped by with little problem. Naruto and Sakura had taken to Gaara rather quickly. No incident had happened on the first day of school and that was how it had been for the first week. It had only been that Friday as Sasuke was walking home from a late practice that he noticed Gaara walking down the streets towards the cemetery. Looking around, Sasuke dropped his bag in the front yard and followed him, keeping silent as he slipped in the gate.

Gaara walked among the stones of the grave markers for a good hour as silence rang out among the dead atmosphere. Sasuke was seriously contemplating leaving when another figure showed up behind him. With a yelp, Sasuke was thrown to the ground, a hand clamping down on his throat.

Looking around, he searched desperately for something to use as a weapon. Anything would do. He found a rock but it was just out of his reach. If only he could move a little to the right. As he trying to move over just that centimeter, the weight atop him disappeared and he looked up only to find his attacker being encased in sand, sand that was being controlled by none other than Gaara. With a blood curdling scream, blood soaked through the sand before Gaara pulled back and nothing but a few drops of red liquid fell to the parched ground beneath his feet. Sasuke stared wide eyed, mouth agape, and gasping for air. It was then that Gaara looked over at him and frowned.

"You followed me?" He said, in more of a statement than question. Sasuke stuttered before forming an actual sentence.

"Y-you-you... you killed him!?!" He finally screeched, jumping up and backing away from Gaara a step or so. Gaara sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Yes... But I killed a demon... that had the intent to kill YOU." He stressed. Sasuke stopped and slumped slightly.

'Who the hell are you?" He demanded. Gaara once again sighed and looked around before squaring his shoulders.

"Gaara Subaku, demon slayer and sand bender... happy?" Sasuke blinked and sat down, trying to process this.

"I'm dreaming... or else I'm cracked up."

"You're neither." Gaara replied calmly. "but you are quite fucked."

"How so?!" Sasuke growled. "I can take care of myself."

"Well... you just stumbled into a whole new world of belief and laws." Sasuke looked at him, not even bothering to hide his confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"You're no longer safe in the normal ways of people. You know the truth now without even realizing it. You die now... you'll have no where to go except down." Gaara said, leaning against a grave stone and crossing his arms.

"To Hell? What about Heaven?" Sasuke questioned, not liking the serious tone and impending doom in Gaara's voice.

"Heaven's a myth, my dear Uchiha..."

"Why's that?" Sasuke asked, looking at the red head before him.

"Because I burned it..." Gaara replied in a silky smooth, almost demonic voice of his own, sand starting to swirl around him in the slight breeze. "There's no place to go but Hell..." It was then that Sasuke noticed his mind slipping into unconsciousness. Trying to fight the urge to close his eyes, Sasuke shook his head, but failed in his futile attempt. He soon slipped off into sleep, falling over to the ground, his face pressed into the grass just inches from a black boot.


	2. Sasuke

Well here's the next chapter! YAY!!!! I know it's short! I'm sorry! Please forgive me:sobs and begs forgiveness: well... R&R please!

_ ENJOY!!!!!!!!_

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_Sleeping With Death_

Twitching, Sasuke awoke, his eyes cracking open to find a black ceiling above his head. No sunlight filtered in and he turned his gaze over to the blood red walls, finding black curtains hanging over the windows. Again, he blinked a few times before finally allowing his surroundings to sink in. He wasn't in his room. His rooms had dark blue walls. Shooting up in the bed, silk black sheets falling from his body, he let out a strangled scream.

_Did we create a modern myth  
Did we imagine half of it  
What happened in a thought from now  
Save yourself, save yourself_

_A secret is out  
A secret is out_

_To buy the truth and sell a lie  
The last mistake before you die  
So don't forget to breath tonight  
Tonight's the last so say goodbye_

_A secret is out  
A secret is out  
A secret is out  
A secret is out_

_Goodbye_

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN I'M SAFE!?!" Sasuke screeched. God he sounded like some pathetic damsel in distress from those old pirate movies. Gaara sighed and rolled his eyes, clearly getting annoyed of explaining this over and over again.

"Yes, Sasuke. You're safe. Your house is next door. However." He said, stopping Sasuke before he could say anything in protest. "I can't take you there just yet. I have to explain a few things first. Like... as to what exactly happened last night." With that, he pulled a chair over from the corner, spun it around, and sat on it, his arms resting on the back and legs straddling the back. Sasuke watched him from where he still sat in the bed. A wound he hadn't even known about was wrapped, the bandage tight against his abs, and another bandage was wrapped around his neck to hide the bruising and keep salve on the tender flesh.

"alright then... explain away..." the raven haired teen grumbled, sitting back against the ox blood head board. Gaara cracked a small smile.

"Alright then... where did I leave off last night before I knocked you out?" Sasuke blinked.

"you knocked me out!?!"

"Yes, but that's beside the point..." Sasuke huffed, but let it slide, crossing his arms over his chest.

"you said something about being a Demon Slayer and also burning Heaven." Gaara nodded.

"Oh... right. So... a Demon Slayer is just what the title says. We hunt down and kill demons, vampires and any other kind of dark creature that breaks the laws set down by the Necromancers. But that's a little too complicated so I'll teach you that as you learn." Sasuke blinked.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Lean!?! Learn what!?!" He yelped, sitting up and flailing his arms. Gaara blinked as if it was obvious.

"Learn to be a Demon Slayer... you don't really have a say in the matter. You've seen even a glimpse into my life... so now, to follow the rules, you must become one of us... guarding humans from the darkness that lurks within." Gaara stated. He seemed rather calm about all of this. That was when Sasuke remembered it was the norm for said red haired boy.

"So... I'm stuck?"

"Yeah..." Sasuke fell silent and Gaara waited for Sasuke's reply.

"Well that sucks..."

((2 months later))

"So.. have you thought about the three people you're going to tell?" Gaara asked, walking along side his quiet apprentice... if he could be called that. Sasuke looked over at him and sighed. During his talk with Gaara the day he'd woken up, in what turned out to be Gaara's bed, he'd found out much about the laws of the Demon Slayers and the Necromancer's laws as well. One of them was the law that a Demon Slayer must have 3 humans to help him/her in their quest to keep humans safe. Sasuke had been slightly pleased by this, but not sure who he could trust. He knew he had to tell Itachi, Gaara knew as well, but the other two.

"Itachi... but... I'm not sure who else..." Gaara nodded. They had arrived at the cemetery right after classes were out and Sasuke had been dismissed from basket ball practice.

"Why not those two friends of yours..? Sakura has good research skills... she'd be able to find the weakness to any demon you face. Naruto's got spirit. He'd be a good addition to watch your back." Sasuke sank back into thought before nodding. Gaara was right. And he knew he could trust them with his life.

"Alright then... I'll tell them... but I'll have to drag them along tomorrow night to prove it to them." Gaara nodded and remained silent. Sasuke tilted his head to the side and looked over at the red head.

"Hey Gaara..." the senior Slayer looked over at him and blinked in acknowledgment. "Who are the three people that know your secret?" Gaara blinked and looked away, letting his gaze fall out beyond the wall of trees surrounding them.

"My siblings... Temari and Kankuro..." Sasuke waited, quirking an brow.

"And the third?" Gaara looked at him only for a second before going back to the trees.

"...My uncle..." Sasuke blinked. This was new to him. He knew that Gaara had lost both his parents, but he'd never heard anything about any other relatives.

"Your uncle? Then why aren't you living with him?"

"He committed suicide five years ago when his attempt to kill me was ruined. That's how I discovered my ability as a Slayer." Sasuke blinked. Gaara had explained that some were born with the powers of a Slayer while others were taught them. _So Gaara was one of the few born..._ Sasuke thought, tilting his head to the other side.

"So... when am I going to actually start learning my abilities?" Gaara looked over at him once again, black meeting teal in a steady gaze.

"The more you learn, the more your knowledge increases. As that happens, your body adjusts to fit the fighting style you use the most and creates abilities based off of that style. You don't exactly learn more of a grow the ability within your body and adapt to the energy required. You'll notice that already physical activities such as basket ball for instance have already become almost too easy for you. You'll notice the need to eat more and the need for less sleep."

Sasuke looked at Gaara in confusion. Some of it made sense, but the rest almost seemed... unhealthy. He'd noticed the ease in basket ball and had just taken it for being in shape and getting used to practice, but he now knew why it had happened so suddenly.

"that doesn't make sense though... why would I need less sleep? I mean the eating more would be to keep up with the metabolism and keep feeding me energy, but the lack of sleep would take that away." Gaara shook his head. Sasuke blinked, even more confused.

"No... the energy comes from practice, spirit, determination, and oxygen. You'll be breathing deeper with the more activity you do. The eating is to provide you with the energy to make up for the lack of sleep. As a Slayer, it is required that you patrol until at least 1 A.M." Sasuke slumped. He could barely get up at six when he had seven hours of sleep the night before, but... this?! He voiced his concern.

"Your body is already adjusting. I noticed that you were up before your alarm this morning." Sasuke blinked.

"You were watching me?" Gaara suddenly became very interested in the trees once again. Sasuke could have sworn he saw the tinge of a light blush on the Slayer's cheeks. He wasn't able to pursue the topic any longer as a foot came flying out of nowhere and Sasuke was knocked off balance. Gaara merely side stepped the attack and watched as Kankuro charged at Sasuke again.

"Shit! Give me a break will ya!?" Sasuke yelped as he ducked, Kankuro flying over his head.

"Come on, Sasuke... he doesn't bite..." Gaara said, watching the raven haired teen dodge blow after blow.

"Says you! And look where that got me!" he shot back, thrusting his knee into Kankuro's stomach. The russet haired teen went down and coughed, gasping for air. Gaara sighed.

"Pathetic... you expect to help me and you can't even beat a trainee..." He muttered, rolling his eyes and rubbing the bridge of his nose. Sasuke smirked, kicking Kankuro once more for good measure. The older boy let out a small whimper of pain.

"Ha! Thats what I thought!" He snapped.

"Temari... behind you." Gaara said without even looking away from where he was focused on the trees.

"Wha-shit!" Sasuke barely dodged the attack as he dove to ground, landing not so gracefully by Gaara's feet. The red head looked down at him and sighed.

"I think that's enough training for tonight..." he announced. Temari pouted.

"But I was just getting started!"

"Yes, but I believe our dear brother has had enough of a beating for one night and Sasuke's ego is growing by the second. I'm afraid we might suffocate." Gaara said monotone. Sasuke twitched.

"Hey!"

The next morning found Sasuke sitting in Geometry, trying not to fall asleep. He glanced over at Gaara, who, as luck would have it, had the exact same schedule as he did. How did the kid do it? Gaara was wide awake, not even bothering to take down notes as he listened to the teacher drawl on about triangles. Sasuke knew it, just knew that one day he was going to die of boredom in this class.

Gaara glanced over at him and found Sasuke studying him. He blinked and Sasuke turned a shade of red, turning around and looking back at the board where, as the evil woman with the name of fate decided, the teacher was glaring at him.

"Mr. Uchiha... you can dream about Mr. Sabaku(1) all you want after class. For now, pay attention." Sasuke only blushed a darker red and nodded. The teacher, satisfied, went back to his lesson. Sasuke glanced at Gaara once more and saw the smirk on the red head's lips as he watched the notes being written on the board.

"Smug bastard..." Sasuke grumbled low under his breath. He sighed. Oh well. Next class, he'd be able to see Naruto and Sakura. He'd have to tell them to meet him at the cemetery around 9 that night. It was time to tell them. Sasuke now had something new to worry about.

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(1) I can't remeber if you spell it Subaku or Sabaku. if any one knows please tell me!

Well now I know this chapter was really short, but it's getting late and I'm running out of light to write this. I hope to have another chapter up soon. and hopefully it'll be longer than this one!


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